The Canadian C7 buying experience
- Thread starter 81Wayne
- Start date
Not entirely true for the most part... From day one, the ONLY thing that I could get from GM Chat is that the order is accepted and there is no build date. I have tried numerous times to get the status code and they have replied numerous times that they cannot. I have been told by Chat that the ONLY info they get is the build date.
If you had a good salesman or dealer they would provide this information to you on a regular basis. The workbench status should only be updated once a week typically on Thursday.
My salesman would copy it and email it to me when it changed and every couple of weeks update me even if it had not changed status.
- Aug 20, 2014
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Wait for your z51. You'll be happy you did. I agree with your comments, although my experience was similar to Jake's ... no problems, knew I would be waiting 6 months.
- Feb 23, 2009
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2013 stats for 427 VERT/Z06 and Zr1
a whole 22. ANd for Zr1's....25. Also 133...... 427 verts
Corvette Action Center | Tech Center | Research Center | C6 Corvette Center | 2013 Corvette Center | 2013 Corvette Production Numbers
a whole 22. ANd for Zr1's....25. Also 133...... 427 verts
Corvette Action Center | Tech Center | Research Center | C6 Corvette Center | 2013 Corvette Center | 2013 Corvette Production Numbers
C
C7Jake
- Feb 23, 2009
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just quoting what I saw; guess the source does'nt know their numbers. Assume the other numbers are correct or I'm sure you'd correct..... In any regards, Not many Z06's/Zr1's or 427 Verts:seeya:
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- Jan 26, 2009
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- Thread starter
- #30
I disagree, the last year of production of a generation is always much lower then previous years. What might have been a better indicator was looking when the C6 Z06 was first available and how many did Canada buy during it's introduction year or first 2 years of introduction. Or an average of the last 3 years.
Such BS production was very low in 2013 overall so a very poor stat to use as to try and figure out how many Canada might be able to sell of the new C7 Z06.
- Jan 26, 2009
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- Thread starter
- #31
Looking at the link you provided I see or interpret it the same as "frankmp" Canadian Package #4 had 74 and Canadian Package #5 had 59 = 133 total in regards to 427 in the Convertible collector edition.
- Jan 17, 2013
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a whole 22. ANd for Zr1's....25. Also 133...... 427 verts
Thanks for the data and research FrankMP...I really appreciate it! I remember having to go through consensus when "applying" to spend 6 figures on the Z06....considering they only sent 22 to Canada....I should be ever so thankful to GM....(that is just so wrong)...
Fitzy
I had a short meeting with the GM Canada executives yesterday and confronted them with afew of the concerns brought forward here.
I asked them specifically about why Canada is not getting more C7's for 2015 since we have strong demand here. Their answer was simple. BG looked at the percentage of C7's shipped to Canada over the last 10 years and every year till 2014 Canada has only ordered about 3% of the actually units produced. Based on that BG has commited to send 3% of their production to Canada for 2014's and 2015's.
I checked the actual numbers and looks like they are right about this. Over the last 10 years GM Canada sold between 1.75% to 3.8% of the Corvettes. The only way Canada may get more than their share for 2015 is if:
1. BG Production allows it
2. US dealers cancel orders (if they feel demand softening or if they have adequate supply on the floor)
Now I understand that many of the Canadian C7 buyers have always "dreamed" of buying a Corvette and they are upset with the current production numbers, however, the surge in Canadian orders over the last couple of years has been because:
1. in 2014 US dollar was at par with Canadian Loonie
2. A large number of "dreamers" who were financially able to, decided to realize their dream in a very short window because of the value and quality of the new Stingray.
Kinda like if everyone went to the bank and demanded to withdraw all their funds the banks will run out of cash very quickly and leave others screaming. Now if we had paced our dream fulfillment plans in line with previous years we wouldnt have to deal with the lack of supply we have right now. Fortunately the C7's are that good and continues to draw more people.
The good news is that while Canada is not getting any C7's from Jan-March this year, BG has been building them rapidly and stocking all dealership in US. If these C7's continue to pile up at the US dealers then chances are that they will start cancelling orders for retail units and Canadian dealers will only be too happy to grab them as additional allocations.
Keeping the above in mind if we were to get another 1200 C7's in Canada for the MY 2015 and 300 of these go to the vehicles who were carried forward from 2014 then really we have approximately 900 C7's coming to Canada as 2015. Choosing your dealership has never been more important if you want your 2015 C7.
At Gateway we have a good track record for fulfilling our C7 order and so we are not taking any more deposits for 2015's. If something changes and we get more allocations I will post it here. Some other dealers are still taking deposit with no allocations so do your research before handing over your deposit. I would rather get disappointed before placing a depsoit than having waited for a year while everyone else I know got their C7 and then being told im not getting mine.
Best of luck!
I asked them specifically about why Canada is not getting more C7's for 2015 since we have strong demand here. Their answer was simple. BG looked at the percentage of C7's shipped to Canada over the last 10 years and every year till 2014 Canada has only ordered about 3% of the actually units produced. Based on that BG has commited to send 3% of their production to Canada for 2014's and 2015's.
I checked the actual numbers and looks like they are right about this. Over the last 10 years GM Canada sold between 1.75% to 3.8% of the Corvettes. The only way Canada may get more than their share for 2015 is if:
1. BG Production allows it
2. US dealers cancel orders (if they feel demand softening or if they have adequate supply on the floor)
Now I understand that many of the Canadian C7 buyers have always "dreamed" of buying a Corvette and they are upset with the current production numbers, however, the surge in Canadian orders over the last couple of years has been because:
1. in 2014 US dollar was at par with Canadian Loonie
2. A large number of "dreamers" who were financially able to, decided to realize their dream in a very short window because of the value and quality of the new Stingray.
Kinda like if everyone went to the bank and demanded to withdraw all their funds the banks will run out of cash very quickly and leave others screaming. Now if we had paced our dream fulfillment plans in line with previous years we wouldnt have to deal with the lack of supply we have right now. Fortunately the C7's are that good and continues to draw more people.
The good news is that while Canada is not getting any C7's from Jan-March this year, BG has been building them rapidly and stocking all dealership in US. If these C7's continue to pile up at the US dealers then chances are that they will start cancelling orders for retail units and Canadian dealers will only be too happy to grab them as additional allocations.
Keeping the above in mind if we were to get another 1200 C7's in Canada for the MY 2015 and 300 of these go to the vehicles who were carried forward from 2014 then really we have approximately 900 C7's coming to Canada as 2015. Choosing your dealership has never been more important if you want your 2015 C7.
At Gateway we have a good track record for fulfilling our C7 order and so we are not taking any more deposits for 2015's. If something changes and we get more allocations I will post it here. Some other dealers are still taking deposit with no allocations so do your research before handing over your deposit. I would rather get disappointed before placing a depsoit than having waited for a year while everyone else I know got their C7 and then being told im not getting mine.
Best of luck!
- Sep 2, 2014
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I suppose it is hard to anticipate the level of success of a new product launch, but I also find a great lack of imagination for GM not to anticipate that the C7 was revolutionary and not evolutionary. I’d like to think that the engineers knew they had hit on their hands, so to me it was a matter of management realizing that the demand would not be just a linear extension of previous years. To me this also shows a tremendous lack of faith by GM in their product’s appeal.
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It is not a hard process to organize... PAY ATTENTION GM! Everyone who wants one places an order. Based on the number of orders before the model year build commencing, they approve those orders and base the remainder on that...simple.
There should never be an unfilled order when they have an order system that tells GM... Hey this guy wants one of our cars!
Further, I would love to have had the answer to why so few Z06s....and then been curious as to why Canada got their allocations before the US.
There should never be an unfilled order when they have an order system that tells GM... Hey this guy wants one of our cars!
Further, I would love to have had the answer to why so few Z06s....and then been curious as to why Canada got their allocations before the US.
- Jun 19, 2014
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Shenanigans, AllFlash, GM shenanigans. Two words a C7 buyer in Canada has learned to hate: allocation and constraint. And from the 3% nonsense; quota. They based C7 sales on the (no offence to C4,C5 & C6 owners) lackluster sales of an unimaginative design. What's evident is GM's smugness that they didn't take a clue with '14 sales that the larger volume of orders for C7s would continue into 2015. Nope, still 3%. Tough nuts Canada. Heads should roll.
Had I known all of this GM smugness prior to May of last year, it could very well have been an F-type Jag coupe in my garage instead. It took the C7 style to get me into a GM dealer after an almost 40 year absence.
Sounds like I have to consider myself one of the lucky Canadians to get a '15 Z51 - a sad commentary for sure.
@AllFlash: GM does not consider status 1100 as accepted orders so they only commited to building orders that moved past 1100. What they did as goodwill (and were not required to do) was to offer price protection towards a 2015 C7 for factory orders that were still at Status 1100 at the end of production cycle. A retail unit to be sold on the floor was not Price Protection.
A dealer can submit 100's of orders but may only have allocation for 2. GM does not encourage this practice and so encourages Corvette dealers to keep a close eye on their allocations and past history to avoid disappointment later.
I strongly support the allocation system which rewards dealers based on their support of the Corvette's when it wasnt that popular but still stuck by it. A dealer (and sales staff) that invested their efforts heavily into a product should be rewarded for their hard work.
The dealer principal invests into training their parts, service and sales staff and not to mention purchasing new equipment to meet these unique vehicles needs. So when they have a winner product a dealer expects the same back from GM Canada.
Unfortunately the only way to get more units shipped to Canada now is if US dealers start cancelling their orders and production allows them to continue building more for Canada. I guess one may also point the finger at the Canadian customers who previously purchased their "dream" Corvettes from US resulting in a lower percentage demand for Canada on the books.
Another unpopular way is to reduce the demand by increasing the prices so some people may consider delaying their purchase decision till later. I am sure the recent price increase reduced the demand slightly for a product which is not even possible to get anymore. Most would agree that the introductory price of the 2014 C7 was lower than most anticipated which inflated the demand. Same was seen for the 2015 Z06's where I had 2 allocations and it took 2 weeks to sell them as we didnt have the prices. As soon as prices were released and they were way lower than expected there was an increase in demand but no more supply.
Ultimately the total number of vehicles that GM Canada gets is dependent on the percentage of total vehicles sold in Canada in the past. GM Canada has no control over this. They want more but thats a tough argument to make when they actually loose money on every unit sold.
A dealer can submit 100's of orders but may only have allocation for 2. GM does not encourage this practice and so encourages Corvette dealers to keep a close eye on their allocations and past history to avoid disappointment later.
I strongly support the allocation system which rewards dealers based on their support of the Corvette's when it wasnt that popular but still stuck by it. A dealer (and sales staff) that invested their efforts heavily into a product should be rewarded for their hard work.
The dealer principal invests into training their parts, service and sales staff and not to mention purchasing new equipment to meet these unique vehicles needs. So when they have a winner product a dealer expects the same back from GM Canada.
Unfortunately the only way to get more units shipped to Canada now is if US dealers start cancelling their orders and production allows them to continue building more for Canada. I guess one may also point the finger at the Canadian customers who previously purchased their "dream" Corvettes from US resulting in a lower percentage demand for Canada on the books.
Another unpopular way is to reduce the demand by increasing the prices so some people may consider delaying their purchase decision till later. I am sure the recent price increase reduced the demand slightly for a product which is not even possible to get anymore. Most would agree that the introductory price of the 2014 C7 was lower than most anticipated which inflated the demand. Same was seen for the 2015 Z06's where I had 2 allocations and it took 2 weeks to sell them as we didnt have the prices. As soon as prices were released and they were way lower than expected there was an increase in demand but no more supply.
Ultimately the total number of vehicles that GM Canada gets is dependent on the percentage of total vehicles sold in Canada in the past. GM Canada has no control over this. They want more but thats a tough argument to make when they actually loose money on every unit sold.
Owais... I understand your point totally with the reward system and my same advise could clearly be accomplished with placed orders even through the 'rewarded' dealerships. GM has full access to those orders and has full confirmation that they are sold cars. As good as the reward system is, there are also politics in the dealership game and we all know that. My closest dealership is 'Corvette' trained and authorized and I have even been told late last year that their mechanic was going for the latest training, but they get 1 freakin Vette a year....even though they openly state they could fill 4 orders yearly minimum.
Don't get me wrong because you are shining spot in the clouds and that is very good. Heck you posted a Z06 allocation at MSRP!!!! The truth is that GM USA doesn't give 2 craps about GM Canada, thus short changing us Vettes and allowing for some dealers to conduct some very questionable business practices with potential buyers. I can name SEVERAL clear examples of people that contacted me personally through the sites I am on.
Quite frankly, if GM would have stood buy their own formula to determine how many Z06s would come to Canada, I might not feel this way. What they did though was totally wrong; under 50 Z06s is horrid considering how GM is benefiting by allowing US models to come into Canada for sale in the grey market.
Do we not think GM could address Sherwood, Cullen, Fournier or the others if they wanted to? They could easily stop those imports with a phone call but they won't. They get their money...full pop as it was a US sale, and then they get the first 12K miles warranty set aside... Imagine buying a car with no warranty for 12K miles...what a windfall for GM.
Ok rant over.... ask me how I am feeling at the end of this...the longest month of my year.
Don't get me wrong because you are shining spot in the clouds and that is very good. Heck you posted a Z06 allocation at MSRP!!!! The truth is that GM USA doesn't give 2 craps about GM Canada, thus short changing us Vettes and allowing for some dealers to conduct some very questionable business practices with potential buyers. I can name SEVERAL clear examples of people that contacted me personally through the sites I am on.
Quite frankly, if GM would have stood buy their own formula to determine how many Z06s would come to Canada, I might not feel this way. What they did though was totally wrong; under 50 Z06s is horrid considering how GM is benefiting by allowing US models to come into Canada for sale in the grey market.
Do we not think GM could address Sherwood, Cullen, Fournier or the others if they wanted to? They could easily stop those imports with a phone call but they won't. They get their money...full pop as it was a US sale, and then they get the first 12K miles warranty set aside... Imagine buying a car with no warranty for 12K miles...what a windfall for GM.
Ok rant over.... ask me how I am feeling at the end of this...the longest month of my year.
@ VINDIC8R: Its not a quota of the total number of units. Its a 3-4% of total production. quota would refer to a limitation on the actual number of units.
In reality GM Canada got almost 4 times the number of vehicles for MY 2014. Throughour 2009-2013 GM Canada only sold about 300 vehicles/year. Whereas in 2014 GM Canada sold close to 1200 C7's -- a 300% increase year over year.
2013 -- US deliveries 17,291 vs Canada deliveries 324 -- about 1.8% of total production
2014 -- US deliveries 34,839 vs Canada deliveries 1181 -- about 3.3% of total production
Production by percentage for Canada actually almost doubled while the number of units went up 4 times.
That takes me back to the exchange rate and relative price which inflated the demand even more in Canada than in US for an equally remarkable product.
In reality GM Canada got almost 4 times the number of vehicles for MY 2014. Throughour 2009-2013 GM Canada only sold about 300 vehicles/year. Whereas in 2014 GM Canada sold close to 1200 C7's -- a 300% increase year over year.
2013 -- US deliveries 17,291 vs Canada deliveries 324 -- about 1.8% of total production
2014 -- US deliveries 34,839 vs Canada deliveries 1181 -- about 3.3% of total production
Production by percentage for Canada actually almost doubled while the number of units went up 4 times.
That takes me back to the exchange rate and relative price which inflated the demand even more in Canada than in US for an equally remarkable product.
Shenanigans, AllFlash, GM shenanigans. Two words a C7 buyer in Canada has learned to hate: allocation and constraint. And from the 3% nonsense; quota. They based C7 sales on the (no offence to C4,C5 & C6 owners) lackluster sales of an unimaginative design. What's evident is GM's smugness that they didn't take a clue with '14 sales that the larger volume of orders for C7s would continue into 2015. Nope, still 3%. Tough nuts Canada. Heads should roll.
Had I known all of this GM smugness prior to May of last year, it could very well have been an F-type Jag coupe in my garage instead. It took the C7 style to get me into a GM dealer after an almost 40 year absence.
Sounds like I have to consider myself one of the lucky Canadians to get a '15 Z51 - a sad commentary for sure.
Hi Les,
Thanks for your generous comments about me.
I guess I am a bit naive as I have not experienced the so called "politics" first hand yet.
At Gateway we have stuck on our commitment to sell all C7 factory orders at MSRP and apply all eligible discounts. We hope that some of the forum members here would consider us for vehicles other than just the Corvettes when the time comes.
The grey market C7's leave a bad taste in my mouth as well. If you detest them as much as I do then I would encourage you to contact the appropriate forum moderators to weed out these so called "Toronto Corvette Fan's". You will be doing a favor to a lot of us who work hard to maintain our commitment to higher standards that many have come to expect today.
Thanks for your generous comments about me.
I guess I am a bit naive as I have not experienced the so called "politics" first hand yet.
At Gateway we have stuck on our commitment to sell all C7 factory orders at MSRP and apply all eligible discounts. We hope that some of the forum members here would consider us for vehicles other than just the Corvettes when the time comes.
The grey market C7's leave a bad taste in my mouth as well. If you detest them as much as I do then I would encourage you to contact the appropriate forum moderators to weed out these so called "Toronto Corvette Fan's". You will be doing a favor to a lot of us who work hard to maintain our commitment to higher standards that many have come to expect today.